China and the European Union have issued a joint call to action on climate change during a tense summit in Beijing.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged the European Union to make “the right strategic choice” and enhance cooperation with China, while EU leaders called for a rebalancing of trade ties, as the two sides tackle deep-seated grievances at a tense summit in Beijing.

"The biggest piece in the trade deal puzzle still remains, and the Chinese are unlikely to be as willing to fold."

But the worst-case scenarios were so bad that Europe’s trade negotiators gave up on returning to anything close to those halcyon days. Over the past few months Mr Trump, convinced that the EU was ripping off his countrymen,

Senior U.S. and Chinese negotiators meet in Stockholm on Monday to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of a trade war between the world's top two economies, aiming to extend a truce keeping sharply higher tariffs at bay.

Beijing is betting that economic pressure and diplomatic defiance will force concessions, but its stance could put more strain on its ties with Europe at a crucial time.

In May EU leaders said they were ready to “work hand in hand” with China to deal with “common challenges”. But the Europeans’ short-lived friendliness was as much an attempt to manipulate the Americans as it was a bid to woo the Chinese,

China is a "critical partner" to Europe with a range of shared interests, state news agency Xinhua said in a commentary piece, downplaying Beijing's rivalry with the European Union bloc hours before a key summit between leaders of both sides on Thursday.

Finally, the halt of U.S. LNG exports to China threatens long-term contracts worth 20 million tons per year with U.S. suppliers. Chinese LNG buyers are now reselling U.S. cargoes to Europe and also seeking new deals with Asia-Pacific and Middle Eastern suppliers, undermining U.S. export growth.

A joint statement promised new efforts to cut emissions at a time when China is positioning itself as the world’s one-stop shop for clean energy technologies.

Half a century after the establishment of relations between China and the EU, and against a backdrop of deteriorating transatlantic relations, the European Union and China held their 25th summit in Beijing.